Both Twin Cities start chief searches

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has announced the process for hiring a new police chief, including the selection of a search firm. It's a critical decision that will go a long way toward determining if the mayor's second term is a success.

The city will rightly seek significant public input as it seeks a Minneapolis Police Department leader who can handle multiple challenges — including reducing violent crime, building public trust in the department and making major internal changes to how cops do their jobs.

Frey said he has hired California-based Public Sector Search & Consulting Inc. (PSSC), a national firm focused exclusively on police executive searches. The company will be paid around $95,000 to help find a chief who will earn at least $200,000 annually.

Frey has also formed a search committee made up of diverse community members to help interview candidates vetted by PSSC and make recommendations to the mayor. Expectations are that the new leader will be selected this summer to replace Medaria Arradondo, who stepped down in January.

Minneapolis officials should seek a police leader who has a clear vision of how MPD should operate. Minneapolis needs a talented, high-energy chief who can move quickly on reforms, speed up officer hiring while emphasizing diversity and character, and establish lasting relationships in the community.

"This will be one of the most if not the most consequential hire we make. We've got to do this right," Frey told an editorial writer. In a statement, he also said, "The importance of hiring a reform-minded Chief of Police to lead a culture shift in our department cannot be overstated."

Frey has not said if interim Chief Amelia Huffman, who previously expressed interest in the job, will make the cut of candidates under consideration.

In St. Paul, Chief Todd Axtell will retire when his term ends on June 23. Some City Council members there say they'd like the new chief named by early summer so the transition could occur with no need for an interim hire. However, Mayor Melvin Carter has yet to announce a search firm and an advisory committee, promising to do so soon. His timeline would have Axtell's successor begin sometime in August.

St. Paul also will seek community input though surveys, public testimony and conversations with stakeholder groups. Last week, the council started discussing minimum requirements for a chief that included at least four years of experience as a high-ranking police administrator with at least 500 sworn officers. A public hearing will be held on Wednesday to discuss the hiring criteria.

Minnesota's two largest cities are making these leadership choices for the first time since the murder of George Floyd in MPD custody in May 2020. His death sparked demonstrations across the globe, along with violent unrest and a national reckoning about race and policing.

The two new chiefs will come on board during a time when residents, workers, employers and visitors in both cities are understandably worried about rising violent crime rates, including homicides, assaults, carjackings and robberies across many neighborhoods.

St. Paul City Council President Amy Brendmoen suggested her city wants to sustain the progress made by Axtell. "I think we're looking for a very different chief" than Minneapolis, she told the Star Tribune. "St. Paul is in front in terms of being modern, being progressive, being reflective and leading. And Minneapolis is at a point where they need a fixer. So I feel like we're looking for two really different people."

That's mostly accurate, but both cities must look for leaders with track records of policing their own officers, holding cops accountable and creating culture change if necessary. The new chiefs must understand how to direct their officers to deliver unbiased, respectful and effective law enforcement.

That's a tall order, especially in Minneapolis. But city officials, with help from citizens, shouldn't accept anything less.